Prestige Classes

Prestige classes offer a new form of multiclassing. Unlike the basic classes, characters must meet Requirements before they can take their first level of a prestige class. The rules for level advancement apply to this system, meaning the first step of advancement is always choosing a class. If a character does not meet the Requirements for a prestige class before that first step, that character cannot take the first level of that prestige class. Taking a prestige class does not incur the experience point penalties normally associated with multiclassing.

There are 15 prestige classes defined in the SRD. They are:

Arcane Archer

Arcane Trickster

Archmage

Assassin

Blackguard

Dragon Disciple

Duelist

Dwarven Defender

Eldritch Knight

Hierophant

Horizon Walker

Loremaster

Mystic Theurge

Shadowdancer

Thaumaturgist

Definitions of Terms

Here are definitions of some terms used in this section.

Base Class: One of the standard eleven classes.

Caster Level: Generally equal to the number of class levels (see below) in a spellcasting class. Some prestige classes add caster levels to an existing class.

Character Level: The total level of the character, which is the sum of all class levels held by that character.

Class Level: The level of a character in a particular class. For a character with levels in only one class, class level and character level are the same.